ABSTRACT
Pain is the cardinal symptom of chronic pancreatitis1 and is, together with the often ongoing alcoholism, the most difficult symptom to treat. For some patients with chronic pancreatitis the pain is so severe that all the waking hours are devoted to pain control and quality of life is low in every respect. Although much has been done to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic pancreatitis, there is still no therapy that counteracts the inflammatory process of the disease. As patients with chronic pancreatitis at best can be symptomfree, but never cured, treatment should be directed against symptoms and complications, of which pain is the most important, and the management of symptoms should be of prime concern in most patients with chronic pancreatitis.
